Baby Blackbird enjoys the sun!

We saw this young Blackbird lying on our patio today like it was dead and wondered what on earth it was doing. Recently we have had a lot of  baby birds and most of them look to be lying around being lazy all day and being fed by their parents but we think that these birds are sunning themselves (we don't blame them!)

Sparrowhawk Returns

This afternoon was not a very good afternoon for one of our resident sparrows. We were hoping that the Sparrowhawk wouldn't predate any more birds in our garden but sadly today we saw the Sparrowhawk sat on the ground, its bold yellow eyes peering up at us with an unfortunate House Sparrow in its talons.

Sparrowhawks feed on an amazing variety of prey including: small birds (as tiny as a Goldcrest), pigeons and doves, birds as big as Pheasants, small mammals like mice and voles and, in some cases, bats!

Although Sparrowhawks kill a lot of prey, they are actually hunted themselves by Goshawks who do not tolerate the smaller birds in their territory and younger birds are often taken by Tawny Owls. Female Sparrowhawks generally take larger prey because they are 25% bigger than the males and she will sometimes kill her mate! Males can live to up to seven or eight years and females can live up to eleven years of age!

Green Woodpecker Sighting

Just as we thought there was going to be no more bird activity tonight, a Green Woodpecker arrived on our front lawn frantically pecking up ants (and the edges of the lawn).

Green Woodpeckers are very shy birds and he flew off several times when cars approached, returning a few minutes later to continue the feast! We got some great pictures. This picture was taken with the Canon EF 100-400mm IS Telephoto lens at just 1/60 second (using ISO800 and F5.6) which shows what can be achieved with this lens hand-held.

Amazingly, he was on the grass opposite at one point with a pair of Bullfinches (male and female).

Fledgling Woodpecker Has Tea!

At 6pm we saw our Fledgling Great Spotted Woodpecker getting fed by the adult male bird.

The youngster is actually pretty independent now and needs little help, so it shows that adult woodpeckers are pretty good parents. The fledgling still follows the adult Woodpecker around and we frequently see him on our feeders. The Suet Balls or Peanut Feeder seem to be favoured by both birds.

Shy Stock Dove

We have recently seen a Stock Dove in our garden but we had to read a lot of bird books before we were completely sure that it was a Stock Dove! These little pigeons are incredibly shy and secretive and it is very hard to get a decent picture through the window.

We managed to get a photo by slowly opening the window and sliding the Canon long lens out and hoping it didn't fly off! You can tell the difference between a Stock dove and a Woodpigeon by the white on the neck (Stock Doves lack this) and the size of the bird. Stock doves have large black eyes and Woodpigeons have yellow eyes with a black pupil.

Jay Visits Bird Feeder

This morning we were doing the usual "bird checks" after all the nuts were gone on the seed tray a couple of days ago and we were curious to find out what this hungry being was that was nicking the food.

Today in the garden and we were lucky enough to see that it was actually a clever Jay that was sat on the tray and didn't seem remotely bothered that we were peering out of the window.

It's a bit early to be storing nuts for winter mate!

Baby Nuthatch Grows Up Fast!

Before

This afternoon we had a reunion with one of our best-loved garden birds. This particular Nuthatch we think came from the Nuthatch nest in a tree hole close to the Pyle Hill entrance on Greenham Common and was a very young individual the first time we saw him. Meet "Scraggle", our baby Nuthatch, although he doesn't quite live up to his name any more.

We have recently put up a new peanut feeder up and much to our surprise the Woodpecker and Nuthatch have both used it within days of putting it up.

After

These 'before' and 'after' pictures show how "Scraggle" has changed and has become more like a fully fledged adult in just a few weeks!

He is now more than capable of adopting the classic upside-down Nuthatch stance, this time with his head raised looking for danger.

Juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker

We were delighted when the Great Spotted Woodpecker which is frequent visitor to the Suet Ball Feeder in our garden decided to bring along its baby this afternoon. Juvenile woodpeckers have a larger red portion on their head.

We got some good pictures and the baby Woodpecker was seen being fed by the adult and later feeding itself on the peanut feeder. This evening it spent 10 minutes on the same feeder by itself, no adult in sight, so it has really gained its independence.

This Great Spotted Woodpecker video was taken out of our bedroom window on our Suet Ball Feder. Enjoy!

Wood Mouse and Squirrel

It's not just the birds which take advantage of the plentiful food on offer in our garden.

We now have a rather cute Wood Mouse and a less cute Grey Squirrel who raids all the food and even ate part of the plastic feeder in his efforts to release more of the Sunflower Mix.

The Grey Squirrel doesn't take 'no' for an answer and will stand his ground even when we get close to him to move him off the food!

The Squirrel's acrobatics are amazing. He is capable of death-defying feats to reach impossibly high feeders with ease!

His more destructive antics include chewing through the plastic on the feeders to release more Sunflower Hearts.

Summer Finches

We have recently put up a Nyjer feeder and much to our surprise it's not just Goldfinches that like it. We get regular visits from a pair of stunning Bullfinches who seem to be just as keen on Nyjer as the Goldfinches. Greenfinches will eat it too.

Today we topped the most Goldfinches we've ever seen in the garden. We saw 7 at the same time, with some feeding on the Sunflower Heart Mix which seems to be popular with pretty much all our birds. Expensive to buy though - at £35 for 12.5Kg!

There's no doubt that Goldfinches are stunning looking birds and one of ours seems to have a ring on its leg, so it must have been ringed at some time then released. Our Goldfinches spend hours on the Nyjer feeder - sometimes arriving shortly after daybreak.

Sparrowhawk Kill

This morning we woke up at around 6am and were watching the baby birds from our lounge window. Regular visitors include baby Blue Tits and Great Tits, baby Starlings two young Blackbirds and a juvenile Robin.

Recently we've been getting a juvenile Bullfinch and Dunnock. Unfortunately the baby Dunnock met with an untimely end this morning when it was sadly taken by a male Sparrowhawk.

This aggressive predator had obviously been eyeing up our fine array of birds deciding which one to take for its breakfast! The baby Dunnock was predated at 06:50am when the Sparrowhawk swooped down and grabbed it from the lawn.

We managed to get a couple of decent pictures by scrambling to get the Lumix FZ150 camera.

Fortunately we were spared it eating the bird - we think it flew off back to nearby West Wood, Greenham to feast!